March 23, 2023

DCTRS

Damascus Center for Theoretical and Civil Rights Studies

Baseball and beyond reacts to death of Hank Aaron

Baseball legend Hank Aaron has “passed away peacefully in his sleep,” according to a statement released Friday by the Atlanta Braves. A cause of death was not immediately known.

Aaron surpassed Babe Ruth’s vaunted record of 714 in 1974 and finished his career with 755 home runs. Along the way, Aaron had to endure death threats from racist baseball fans who didn’t want to see Ruth’s record broken by a Black man.

“I don’t want them to forget Ruth,” Aaron, now second to Barry Bonds (762), said at the time. “I just want them to remember me.”

Here’s how one of baseball’s all-time greats is being remembered.